Joey Abell predicts shock knockout win over Tyson Fury

Late replacement Joey Abell insists he isn’t in London just to make up the numbers with the American vowing to upset Tyson Fury’s world heavyweight title plans on Saturday.

Big-hitting Abell, who’s stopped 28 out of his 29 wins in 38 fights, was drafted in after Argentine Gonzalo Omar Basile pulled out of the Morecambe heavyweight’s ring return with a lung infection.

The 32-year-old from Minnesota fired a warning to Fury as he targets a shock knockout victory at the Copper Box Arena live on BoxNation.

He said: “I’m going straight for the knockout, Tyson has been hit and hurt plenty of times before, but he’s got a big fighting heart and he gets back up to win, this time when he gets hit by me he’s staying down,

“I’m reading that Fury had some trouble recently in his personal life and I’m sorry to hear that, but I’ve got to say that it’s just the start of his problems and he’ll have a big one against me on Saturday night.

“He’s a big man, 6ft 9in or something, he’s got plenty of body to smash into and breakdown before that chin becomes open and exposed ready for a big right hand and then it’s goodnight for Fury.

“I haven’t come here to make up the numbers.

“It’s going to be bringing a war to Fury, make no mistake. This is the biggest night of my life, it would be like winning the lottery to knockout Fury. “I’ll lay it on the line and make a prediction, I’ll KO him inside five, I’m that confident.”

In the main event on Saturday night live on BoxNation, Dereck Chisora aims to continue on the road to a rematch with Fury when he defends his WBO and WBA International titles against Kevin Johnson, who the Morecambe man beat on points back in December 2012.

Johnson said: “My main man here, Joey Abell, is hitting so hard, he could well fell that big ‘ol oak tree Tyson Fury on Saturday night.

“It could be ‘Timber’ for Tyson when Joey lands on that big jaw of his.”